


The Art of Dying; Then Living Again

by Olwyn



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-11 05:16:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12928287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olwyn/pseuds/Olwyn
Summary: After the battle with HADES, Aloy disappears for two years, leaving behind friends who never stop waiting for her return.Erend, Captain of the Vanguard and part-time peacekeeper between unsettled tribes, took his sister's words to heart and is continuously working on himself - "to grow up". He's thrown for a loop when one day he stops a red-headed woman from choking out a Carja citizen.Everyone's at a loss. What's there left to do when all the fighting is done?





	The Art of Dying; Then Living Again

Two weeks after the end of HADES, Aloy remembered standing atop the mesa south of Meridian, where Nil had once asked her to fight to the death, staring at the Spire.

The sound of her blood rushing was still in her ears - the distant war-cries and screams, explosions, commands, machines snapping with electricity. She could still hear all of it; even louder if she closed her eyes.

That day had been the culmination of her entire nineteen years of existence. Her very being was created to fight that battle - her warmth, her breath, her blood had screamed in joy as she stood on that ridge with Erend and Varl that day. But now . . . now she felt as if she was nothing but a sigh of a High Matriarch who was remembering a sweet moment of her youth.

During the rebuilding of Meridian, something had called out to her soul. A cry, a whimper, which said, "not yet". It was a sad sound that made her stop, repulsed, a brick the size of a Stalker's head trembling in her hands. And though she hated it, tried to smother it with idle chatter and laughter, it never stopped crying out to her in a moment of quiet or work. Then one night she packed up her bedroll, whittled down a quiver of arrows, and set out into the darkness without a word. There were people she needed to see.  
\---

The mountains where she grew up as an outcast were was cold and bitter as she remembered. She barely felt the chill as she stalked across the snowy cliffs, her mind filled with the visage of ruins of an Old World house, a suit of metal armor leaning against a rock, and small pink flowers in a triangular pattern. 

Aloy clutched Elisabet's trinket to her chest as she approached the cabin that she once lived in. She allowed herself a moment to trace her fingers over one of the Grazer dummies, the leather that tethered the metal plate to its side was cracked and close to breaking.

For a moment she thought she could hear Rost inside, tanning the hide of a rabbit as he muttered to himself about things that had to be done before sun fall. She almost opened the door, but flinched away before her hand could touch the worn wood. Instead she turned and trudged up the hill to find a stone mound around a tall rock with the symbol of the Nora etched into it.

"Rost," Aloy breathed out his name. A feeling of guilt choked her and she crouched down, removing her focus as she did so. "Oh Rost, I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to come and visit you."

At first all she could do was stare at the snow-capped stones, trying to envision Rost's face among them, as if she couldn't remember what he even looked like. Finally she laid out her bedroll, started up a small fire, and set materials for crafting precision arrows in front of her. "This will take a while," she told the gravestone as she began assembling an arrow, "but I want to tell you everything that's happened to me since you . . . well, since you've been gone."

She told him everything she knew, about the killers from the Proving, Meridian, Project: Zero Dawn, Elisabet Sobeck, her origins, GAIA and HADES, the different people she met on her travels, anything she could think of. She didn't stop until she noticed that the sun had since set and the moon was hanging high in the sky.

With a sigh, she built up her fire to last a few more hours, and hunkered into her bedroll, stuffed with rabbit pelts and goose feathers to keep in warmth. She rolled onto her side to stare at Rost's grave. "I miss you," she whispered, watching her breath wisp away from her mouth in a white fog. "I don't know what to do from here. I can't just reset my life to how it was, can I, Rost? I won't fit with the Nora like you'd wanted - I've seen too much; know too much. I'll just cause them problems. And in Meridian . . . well, it's hard to be a hero, I guess. Too many people smothering you with attention. I'd rather go back to being a savage - friends with only those that really want to be."

In the distance Aloy could hear the bellowing of a herd of Striders down the canyon, but she paid it little mind. She stared at the grave, as if expecting it to speak to her, to tell her what her next goal was: what to kill, to fight, to rebel against. However, everything was silent. Even Sylens had severed contact with her after the defeat of HADES. For the first time in a very, very long time, Aloy felt alone.

The person who was said to have everything, now had nothing.  
\---

Erend sipped on a mug of Carja piss-water beer, wiping the foam from his mustache with the back of his hand. The tavern was rowdy that night, and he kept a sharp eye on his men. It had been two years since the derangement of the machines ended and life had become the easiest he'd ever experienced. There were less and less people crawling to the gates after unexpectedly being trampled by a Grazer or Lancehorn – predator machines stuck closer to their territory than before, and travelers could breathe easier if they were on the road at night. 

In a way, it was difficult to comprehend. As if he were living in a dream world and he was still searching for a way to prove it wasn't real. Even the Carja in Shadow felt like nothing but a distant memory. He shook his leg up and down under the table, antsy.

"Ey, you Oseram are nothing but filthy magpies anyway," he heard a drunken Carja Merchant yell across the room. There were two Forgemen in front of him, their arms crossed over their chests. One of the Oseram's bicep was twitching, as if restraining itself from blacking the Carja's eye. "You see a shiny pile of metal scraps and you take it to turn it into a dirty pile of metal instead of something useful. Filth can only make filth, anyway."

"Why don't you come closer and say that, Carja," one of the Oseram was saying.

Erend was already on his feet, striding towards them.

"Yeah? How close you want to get?" the Carja challenged, stepping towards the men. "Don't touch my apron, it's made of silk. I couldn't stand for it to be dirtied by your hands."

Before anyone could start speaking with their hands, Erend threw his arms around the shoulders of the two Oseram men. "Don't mean to interrupt," he started, "though really I do. I won't stand for a brawl in this good establishment, you see." He could feel the men tense up under his grip. He held them tighter. "I know you're not in the mood to be insulted by a fool in a silk apron, but he's just a drunk fool. If you've still got a problem with him in the morning, then find him and have a talk, but everyone in the city knows that the Oseram deserve to be here after everything they did during the Liberation and at the Battle for the Spire. Without us, this fool'd be dead in the Sun-Ring."

The Carja scoffed but said no more. All three of the men made for the door, looking put out, but placated.

Erend returned to his seat, heaving a great sigh before scooping his drink back up in his hand. He didn't really feel like drinking any more.

"Don't you ever get tired of breaking up bar fights during your down time?"

He looked over to see that Talanah, the current Sunhawk, had sat in the spot next to his while he had been up.

She held up her own mug in a motion of cheers and took a long drink.

"I suppose I do," he said slowly. "It's a bit like pissing in a fire. Except the fire's huge and I ain't had a drink in days." Erend shook his head. "Not a whole lot else I can do. There hasn't been a riot, but damn, I'm not Ersa."

Talanah nodded her head. "Many things have changed," she muttered, "And many have not. Have you heard from our mutual friend?" she asked, as she always did whenever she saw him.

Erend shrugged one of his shoulders. He didn't know why Talanah always came to ask him. It wasn't as if he and Aloy were particularly close. If anything, he was just a leech that had latched onto her good conscience, and back then, she probably couldn't tell him no out of pity.

"Just the rumor here and there about a red-haired huntress who would sell thousands of shards worth of rare machine parts and then saunter back off into the wilds without more than a word." Erend tried to gulp down the rest of his beer, but gagged a little at how watery it tasted. "Not many other people I know that can live out there, alone, like that. Well, probably any Nora could do it, I bet. I don't know if they really think about anything other than survival tactics and the power of motherhood."

The way Talanah tried to hide her snort of amusement in her cup made Erend grin.

"Aloy despite the Nora, would be an exception, I'm sure," she said, still amused. "I was wondering because I've heard reports that the Stormbird sites south of Daytower have empty skies, and a few Nora outcasts have been moving towards Meridian. I thought that maybe . . ."

"Could be anyone," Erend dismissed immediately. He was tired of getting his hopes up only to have them dashed. "She's not the only one capable of taking down a Stormbird or two."

Talanah sighed. It was a heavy sound, as if she meant to disagree, but knew that he was, in some respects, right. "I just wish . . . well, I suppose it doesn't matter." She set her mug on the table and stared into the golden liquid for a moment. "There's a part of me that still wants to repay her - for helping me honor my brother and father, for helping me take down Ahsis . . . . She's still my Thrush, after all! And fighting at the Spire was not my idea of repayment."

Erend nodded. He understood Talanah's frustrations, because he harbored the same feelings. Aloy had done so much for them and she asked for only one battle in return.

"Maybe she won't come back today, but there's always a new sunrise," she continued. "And well, I'm thinking about going out on a long hunt . . . maybe I'll look for her again."

"A long hunt?" Erend asked, incredulous. Ever since the Battle for the Spire, there hadn't been machines attacking without provocation, which led to less and less requests to the Hunter's Lodge for aid. As far as Erend understood, any plea for help had been reduced to collecting rare machine parts. "What's there left to hunt?"

Talanah's back lost some of its rigidity and she slumped a little closer to her mug. "Humans, apparently," she mumbled. "Hearts and lenses are becoming a lucrative business these days. People are stocking up on weapons, ammunition, salves . . . you name it. There's talk among the Carja in the Lodge about the Oseram and Banuk starting riots for more political power." She shook her head and then downed the last of her drink in one last dramatic gulp. "I think they're a bunch of cowed old noble men who hate change more than they hate being poor or hungry."

They both sighed. Not because they thought the rumors nonsense, but because these days, with the tension between tribes thick enough to cut with a knife, it seemed more and more likely.

"Well Captain, I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening." Talanah stood and gave him a short wave.

He responded only by lifting his half empty mug to her before she turned and left.

Before the death of his sister, Erend hadn't been known to be much of a worrier, but these days he felt it was all he did. He worried for the tribes, for Meridian, for Avad and his little brother Itamen, worried for the Vanguard . . . worried about Aloy. A rebellion would be the last thing they needed so shortly after such a bloody civil war.

He wondered briefly how life back in the Claim was, but memories of the Red Raids, the smell of burning metal and circuits of the tinker's hut, the starchy taste of the air by the brewery, the solemnity of Ersa's burial, made him grimace. Since returning after giving Ersa her final farewell, he had not once looked back to the Claim as home. Too much sadness, there.

Instead of lingering in his thoughts, Erend returned to scanning the tavern for trouble. If he couldn't drink his problems away, then at least hypervigilance would keep his mind off things.  
\---

Talanah considered putting together a hunting party as the sun rose over the desert landscape. There had been quite a few requests for Thunderjaw parts, and it was becoming more and more difficult to find reasons to tell them no, especially as their payments began to rise higher and higher.

"It doesn't help anyone, in the end," she grumbled to herself as she watched the men and occasional woman in the lodge share drink and hunting stories on the floor below. "If anything, it'll be used to harm someone, I'm sure . . . but we really need the shards."

But it got under her skin that the Lodge had become little more than a parts requisition team. They were hunters, not merchants! And as glad as she was that innocent lives no longer had to be put in danger by the derangement of the machines, it also put the Hunter's Lodge in a state of non-use - its prestige already a thing of the past.

"I guess I'll go myself," she said, trying to energize herself. "I do need a good workout."

She gathered together her equipment, debating if she wanted to call upon a Fledgling or two to come with her, since her Thrush was . . . well, not available. In the end she decided to go alone, and shouldered her pack of ammunition.

Right as she rounded the corner to the top of the staircase, a large chunk of metal was shoved into her arms by someone who had just ascended the stairs.

"I present a Thunderjaw trophy to my Sunhawk."

Talanah blinked, her mind unable to keep up with the rapid succession of details that assaulted her.

First, she hadn't seen anyone enter the Lodge, nor did she see Ligan greet anyone. Second, the trophy in her arms was a blaster off the side of a Thunderjaw's face. Third, the voice that spoke to her was familiar. So familiar and so unexpected, that she almost dropped the trophy in surprise.

She looked up from the trophy, hoping that too much time hadn't passed in her state of confusion. Before her stood Aloy despite the Nora.

Aloy's hair was matted in places, her armor well cared for, but threadbare in places. Her face was painted with the Nora's Seeker mark, which Talanah hadn't seen since the day of the Battle for the Spire. Most notably, Aloy looked tired. She still looked strong, but somehow thin in her face. As if all the world's problems rested just behind the blue paint underneath her eyes.

"Your Sunhawk gladly accepts this trophy," Talanah said, composing herself. It wasn't easy to rattle her, but Aloy was always an exception - to everything. "She would also like to take a moment aside and speak with her Thrush, if she could."

For a moment she wasn't sure if Aloy would follow her out onto the balcony. She had to repress a breathy sigh of relief when she turned around and Aloy was there, shifting from foot to foot.

"Aloy," she spoke, almost too choked up on all the things she wanted to say at once; she decided to settle on saying, "to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

"I . . ." Aloy cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. "I was hoping that perhaps the Lodge needed . . . help? I've been traveling around - I'm still in top form, so if you guys need something done . . ."

Talanah shook her head before Aloy could scrounge around for other excuses. Her heart had been pounding in her chest, waiting for her Thrush to say something about where she had been, what she had been doing - discovering! Not . . . whatever this was. "So you're asking me for an errand?" she asked, just to make sure she understood correctly.

"Sure, if that's what you need. Point my arrow to wherever you need, and I'll shoot." Aloy seemed to stand a little taller at the declaration, a part of her almost desperate.

Unsure of what to do, Talanah tapped her cheek with a finger, thinking. "Well, alright," she said at length. "I'm headed out to harvest a Thunderjaw heart. Will you come with? As my Thrush?"

Aloy all but jumped onto the offer. "Yes! I'm ready to leave right now."

Talanah hesitated a moment longer, but nodded at her Thrush. They would set out for a Thunderjaw, but when they returned, she was sending Aloy to the baths and a tailor.

Together they left Meridian in silence. Both had too many things to say without knowing how to say them. Talanah only hoped it wouldn't stay this way for long.  
\---

The Thunderjaw roared, tearblast arrows ripping the armor from its core. The sound of blood rushing pulsed in Aloy's ears, deafening even the sound of the great machine's lasers. It was almost a game for her and Talanah, slowly whittling off its weapons, using only arrows to bring it down as to preserve the heart from damage.

They took turns stealing its attention, forcing it to turn around and around in confusion. At one point it charged Talanah, but was knocked off-course by a well-placed tearblast arrow underneath its foot.

When the mechanical beast finally fell to the ground, Aloy and Talanah were dripping with sweat from the heat, exertion, and excitement. They grinned to one another as they began to harvest the Thunderjaw for useful parts, wires, shards, blaze, the heart and lens. 

"Aha," Talanah exclaimed as he pulled out the heart. "And it's in perfect condition. Great job Aloy. I expected nothing less."

"Kind of reminds me of our fight with Redmaw, only . . . easier." She was unable to keep the smile from her face.

Talanah's smile, however, dropped for a moment, as if she were suddenly stuck in the past. "That was . . . a good fight," she relented. "There are no fights like that anymore. But come, let us find some shade before the Glinthawks come, and the Sun scorns us for our thoughtlessness."

"Ah. Yeah, you're right."

They trekked a while back down the path towards Meridian. Talanah stopped next to a boulder, waving Aloy over. There was just enough shade for them both if they sat against the rock, shoulder to shoulder - at least until the sun sank further into the sky.

Aloy, feeling too light-headed to decline, settled herself in next to Talanah. "I suppose there's something you want to ask me," she said after a long silence, the two of them simply watching the boulder's shadow stretch further down their feet.

"There are so many things I want to ask you," Talanah said after taking a couple seconds to gather her thoughts. "So many things I want to tell you. I want to yell at you; hit you a little; okay, a lot; and well, most of all I just . . . want to be happy that you're here. We were worried about you, Aloy, but we knew that following you would only make you more upset."

Aloy's hands moved up to clutch Elisabet's trinket that she carried around her neck. "What made you think I was upset?"

"You've always gone off and done your own thing, Aloy," Talanah said, "but you've never vanished without a word. At the very least, you'd always tell Erend good-bye as you passed the Vanguard station, you know, since its right by the door.

"So I guess, what I want to ask, is did you find what you went looking for?"

Talanah's words struck Aloy almost as if they were arrows. It had always been easy to be snarky and see through people to tease them about their intentions, but to be the one seen through - it was difficult. "I . . . yes. I did. And I think that's where my problem lies."

"Oh?" Talanah's eyebrows nearly disappeared underneath her headdress. "Are you willing to explain?"

Aloy opened her water-skin and took a deep drink, passing it to Talanah when she felt her voice wouldn't break. "Talanah, what do people like us do when the fighting is over?"

"People like us?"

"Yes. People born to fight; to rebel. When there is nothing left to point your arrow at, what do you do?"

Talanah leaned back against the boulder with a sigh. Her lips were pursed and her hawk-like eyes were narrow. "I don't want to disappoint you, Aloy," she spoke softly, "but this is . . . a version of the question I had just been asking myself as the Sunhawk. And right now, I don't think I have an answer for you."

Aloy didn't feel as disappointed as she thought she would. She rested her elbows on her knees and breathed deeply through her nose. "I can't say I'm surprised. I knew coming to the Lodge was a shot in the dark, but . . . I've been running out of ideas. Although I can't say your situation is anything like mine. You have an entire group of traditional old men to look out for."

"You have one Strider to steer, and I have a whole herd, yes," Talanah agreed, solemn. "But a herd will still follow the first, so there's hope for us yet - just as there is for you."

They leaned against each other for a moment, simply glad to be together once again. Aloy had sincerely missed Talanah's council and friendship over the years. A part of her wanted to be upset with herself for not coming back sooner.

"Now I know how Nil felt that day," she muttered, looking at the very mesa he'd challenged her at in the distance.

Talanah heard her, though. "Who's Nil?"

"Just . . . an ex-soldier who'd lost his way, is probably the best way to describe him right now."

"Ah. Makes sense - there have been a lot of those in recent years, now that Itamen is in Meridian." She strummed her bowstring as she spoke, testing its tautness after the long battle. "You know," Talanah exclaimed suddenly, sitting up straight, "you could ask Erend! He seems to, well you might not believe this, but he seems to have himself put together these days."

Aloy blinked, baffled. "Erend? I'll admit, it never crossed my mind that he might have any kind of idea about what to do. I mean, I thought if he had problems, he'd just drink them away as he always did."

Talanah's laugh was sharp, like a bark. "I can't blame you for that assumption. Although I always thought he'd be the first person you'd go to. I had always thought that you two were . . . close."

"He's a good friend," Aloy agreed.

Talanah rolled her eyes.

"And now that you mention it, I probably would have gone to him next if I couldn't find you first. Uh, although it probably would have been to ask where you were at."

"Well don't tell him that when you go to visit. I can't tell you how long he would just sit in the tavern listening to the gossip wheel for information on your whereabouts while not drinking any ‘Carja piss-rot’, as he calls it, and breaking up bar fights."

For a split second, Aloy's heart fluttered with happiness. "I'm starting to feel really guilty right about now. I had no idea you guys were that . . . ."

"Worried? Invested in you? Proud? You're our friend, Aloy, of course we wanted to know that you were still out there, and that you were okay."

Talanah pulled her into a one-armed hug, crushing Aloy against her side. Then she let go and stood up with a stretch. "We should head out now if we want to get back before dark. May the Sun shine on our short journey."  
\---

Meridian was as busy, if not more so, than Aloy remembered it as. Talanah had returned to the Hunter's Lodge with an invitation for Aloy to visit whenever she found time.

She pressed through the evening crowds, most of whom were shop keepers set for home after a long day's work. Some were nobles, enjoying the shadows of dusk that cooled the city, and there were others - the poor, the beggars, ones that Aloy didn't really remember there being before.

Elisabet's words about compassion were etched onto the front of Aloy's heart, and she stopped in front of a skinny Carja begging by the mouth of an alley.

"Oh please kind sav - er, lady. Do you have shards to spare? I lost everything in the Battle for the Spire. My home, my family, my wealth . . ."

"If that's true," Aloy said, leaning a bit closer to look the man in the eyes, "why have you not petitioned the King? He promised to help each and every citizen affected by the war. It's his obligation."

The man stuttered over a few words. "B-but - I mean there's no way the King would talk to a - a man li-like me . . ."

"He will. Go speak to his guards. They have to let you in."

"Bu - bu - but . . ."

Completely flustered, he leaned back, and when Aloy moved forward in pursuit, he lunged at her. His hand grabbed Elisabet's trinket and pulled as he began to run.

Aloy could feel the braided wires that held the trinket as a necklace, snap from around her neck.

Immediately she began to chase after the thief, her heart in her throat. Her hand touched an arrow in the quiver at her hip, but she had to stop herself. Killing a man in a busy street was probably the worst thing she could do right now; even if he was a thief.

Aloy sucked in as much air as her lungs would hold and made a final dash at him with everything she had. She leapt onto the man's back, wrapping an arm around his neck and squeezing as he fell to the ground.

People around them screamed, yelling for help. It wasn't every day they saw a young woman attack a man like an angry Ravager.

"Give it back to me right now you filthy piece of -"

"Take it!" the man rasped out, throwing the trinket about a foot away. He squeaked when Aloy squeezed his neck tighter to show how much she appreciated his small act of defiance. 

Before she could make the man pass out so that she could drag him to the Vanguardsmen herself, she was pulled back by her shoulders by a strong pair of hands that were covered in metal gauntlets. 

"Hey, hey, hey! No violence in the streets! We're a peaceful city! You have a problem, you can duel outside the city gates!" 

The voice boomed behind her and a different guard ran up to them, scooping up Elisabet's trinket and handing it back to her. "Heard the story from the nearby merchants, sorry you had to get robbed on your first visit to . . . wait . . . you look familiar! Captain isn't this -!"

"Aloy? I'll be damned! It really is you!"

The hands that once held her back now wrapped around her shoulders in a brief, but crushing hug.

Aloy turned around, bewildered. "Erend?" His hands on her felt so familiar, and for a moment she welcomed it before she stepped away so she could look him in the face. "I didn't expect to find you out here."

"Well when people nearby start yelling, 'Guards!’ someone usually shows up. I just happened to be around the corner on my way home."

"Not headed to the tavern?"

Erend rubbed the top of his head, brushing back his hair, still shaved into a clean strip from front to back. "Well, not tonight. I was feeling a bit tired - sort of - but well now seeing you here, how about it? Want to go get that drink we promised?"

Aloy smiled - hardly noticed when the thief was hauled away by the other guard, cursing the entire way down the street. "Yeah, Erend, let's go. I could really use a drink after everything that's happened today."

He didn't question her, just nodded and followed a half step behind her as she made way to her favorite place to sit for a light drink. 

The Mixing Grounds Tavern was almost exactly as she remembered it; the notches on her favorite bench, the polished wood walls and metal fixtures, the animal skins hanging from the walls, the Banuk paintings - the only differences she noticed was that the bartender had a beard now and the barmaid was a new face.

"I'm surprised you remembered where this hole-in-the-wall is at," Erend remarked as they sat across from each other at Aloy's favorite table.

"Some things you just can't forget," she replied offhandedly. "I really liked their spiced cactus juice. Do you think they still serve it?"

Erend grinned. "As a matter of fact, they do! Sometimes I stop by for some when I'm . . . thinking about things. Perks ya right up!"

They shared a small chuckle, and Aloy took advantage of a quiet moment to get a really good look at Erend. The past two years really seemed to do him good. He looked freshly shaven, his mustache still dominating his face. His gray eyes were bright and looked her straight on. Somehow he looked younger and yet . . . mature.

The barmaid scuttled up to them, asking their orders, and was off again. Aloy forced herself to pay attention to what Erend was saying.

"- seen a lot of these guys wandering about lately, tricking outlanders like that. Wish Avad would just let me kick their sorry asses out onto the mesa."

"You mean those beggars? If that's the case, wouldn't they be the same as bandits?"

Erend blinked. "Well not all of 'em. You see some of them are actually poor - down on hard times or are too injured or sick to go out on hunts or farm. Every tribe has some."

Aloy cocked her head to the side. "The Nora don't. We have outcasts, yes, but they'll simply die if they can’t take care of themselves.” She thought of Odd Grata and closed her eyes in a moment of guilt. “There are young men that care for the sick, the elderly, and injured in Mother's Heart."

"Hm. Young men . . ." he muttered, looking as if he wasn't sure he wanted to question her further on the subject. "Speaking of the Nora, it looks like you've been spending some time among your people?" He motioned to her face with his hand.

She lightly touched the Seeker's mark painted on her face. "Yes. It was difficult at first, but I knew it was something that he would have wanted me to do."

"He?"

"The man who raised me."

They were silent as their drinks were brought to them, both wrapped in their individual thoughts.

Aloy took a sip of her spiced cactus juice, smacking her lips as the alcohol tingled in the back of her throat. The sweetness helped to quench her thirst.

"So you're still Captain of the Vanguard," she said, uncertain. Conversation seemed different with him now. He used to just talk and she would listen. Now it didn't seem like he had much to say.

"Surprising, isn't it? I thought they'd've kicked my sorry ass out by now, too. But I've been trying to listen to what you and Ersa told me back then, and it looks like it's been working. Well, for the most part." His smile was sheepish, and Aloy couldn't help but to return it. “You know, I’ve heard a little bit about some of your travels,” he said, swirling his beer in his mug. “Gotta say, I’m glad you’re doing okay. Some of the tales I’ve heard sound like they came right from a children’s book.”

Aloy smirked. “Can’t say the people aren’t known for exaggeration.”

Erend nodded. There was a minute of silence where Aloy thought he was going to pry more into the subject, but he just fiddled with his mustache each time he looked as if he was going to speak. Finally he said, "Anyway, Aloy, I'm really glad that you came back. How long are you going to stay in Meridian? Maybe we can . . . you know, get another drink?"

She tapped her near full glass with a raised eyebrow. "Are you trying to leave already?" she teased, "Or do I really look like that much of a mess? I was hoping to take a bath before I went looking for you."

"Oh no, you look pretty like always," he rushed to say, "I guess I just wanted to make sure I'd see you again. Soon."

The noise of the tavern around them seemed to fade away as Aloy chuckled. "Yeah Erend, that sounds like an idea. How about tomorrow? I'm sure you're tired, and I know I am after dealing with that Thunderjaw earlier."

Erend's brows furrowed slightly at the mention of the machine.

"I know we have a lot to catch up on, but there are some things I'd like to ask you - when we're both . . . clean," she tried again.

Erend looked confused, but not repulsed by the suggestion, and Aloy's grip on her bench-seat loosed when he nodded.

"Alright. How about you meet me by the barracks during sundown? There's a nice little place that serves a fantastic goose stew, if you want to have dinner?"

Aloy looked at him askance for a second, but relented. "I'll pay for myself," she said.

"Okay by me."

Erend stood, gulping down the entirety of his mug's contents before slamming down onto the table with a belch. Aloy almost smiled in relief at the sight. So he really hadn't changed too much.

"I'll see you tomorrow Aloy! Don't stand me up now, okay?"

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll be there." She took another drink as she watched Erend leave the tavern.

Something in her gut told her that Talanah had been right. Things were different now, but perhaps with some help from those she trusted, she just might find her way again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I've never posted anything to Ao3 before, so please let me know if the formatting or anything is wrong. I like nothing more than an organic friends to lovers kind of story, so we'll see how this goes.


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